Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

VibrAlign, distributor of Fixturlaser shaft alignment systems in the United States, announced that in June 2014 the ACOEM Group, France, acquired Elos Fixturlaser AB, Sweden, the world leading developer and manufacturer of laser-based shaft alignment systems.

Three quarters of decision-makers at U.S. companies have invested in energy efficiency programs in the past 12 months, and more than half (56 percent) project their investment in energy efficiency next year will be more than last year, according to Schneider Electric.

What do small business owners need to pay attention to this fall? Heath care, Internet Security and new technology make the list. Here are five things that small businesses need to be on top of over the next several months.

In this issue of IMPO, we show you the power of innovation and vision with ORG Chem Group, the importance of integrating workstations into Lean process flow, and investigate where the optimum place to manufacture really is.

Mars Chocolate North America has announced that its new manufacturing facility in Topeka, Kan., has earned LEED Gold certification--an internationally accepted benchmark for designing, constructing, and operating green buildings--from the U.S. Green Building Council.

This complimentary, half-day event features presentations by Bosch and Verizon about how the Internet of Things impacts the manufacturing industry and how manufacturers can improve their business performance leveraging the IoT.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2015, all employers under federal OSHA jurisdiction will be required to report not only all work-related fatalities within eight hours, but also in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and loss of an eye within 24.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. announced that the company hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Bausch + Lomb ULTRA contact lens manufacturing lines and solar array assembly at the company's Optics Center in Rochester, NY.

Now that Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed into law a package of incentives for Tesla Motors, the electric-car maker is moving ahead with plans to build a lithium battery factory to make cheaper batteries so it can afford to mass market a new line of more affordable vehicles.

The United Automobile Workers (UAW) continues to try to organize workers at Mercedes-Benz's plant in Alabama just as the automaker is expanding the plant so it can make more than 300,000 vehicles annually.

New plans for another GE Aviation manufacturing facility in the United States have emerged, as it was revealed that the Ohio-based jet engine maker will open a second plant for the production of ceramic composite materials.

A new report published by The Economist Intelligence Unit shows that while most manufacturing firms have greatly increased the volume of data they collect from the shop floor over the past two years, many are struggling to get the most out of it.